Trigger mechanism for bolt action firearms



Oct. 9, 1956 w, F. ROPER ET AL TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTIONFIREARMS Filed Feb. 20, 195:5

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS WALTER F. ROPER FREDERICK J. WRIGHT BYCJJWQ'W AT ORNEYS Oct. 9. 1956 w. F. ROPER ETAL 2,765,562

TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION FIREARMS Filed Feb. 20, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WALTER F. ROP FREDERICK J. WRIG BY Q W ATTO EYSTRIGGER NIECHANISM FOR BOLT ACTION FIRES Walter F. Roper, Longmeadow,and Frederick J. Wright,

Springfield, Mass, assignors to Savage Arms Corporation, Utica, N. Y., acorporation of Delaware This invention relates to improvements in boltaction firearms and has particular reference to the trigger assemblymechanism for such arms.

An object of the invention is to'provide a simplified structuralassembly for the parts of the trigger mechanism and to provide a twopiece trigger action with an improved safety construction.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be bestappreciated from the following detailed description of the mechanism asshown by the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bolt action repeating shotgun of thetype embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section showing the receiver and trigger partsin cocked position with the safety on;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the safety olf and the variousparts in uncooked position;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation in reduced scale of the receiver and triggerhousing; and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings Fig. 1 shows a bolt actionrepeating shotgun with barrel 1 and receiver 2 having a bolt 3 andhandle 4 slidable therein. The barrel and receiver are mounted on astock 5 by a fore end assembling screw at 6. At 7 a magazine clipchamber is located with a magazine latch 8 at the rear thereof.

Shown in greater detail by Figs. 2 and 3 the bolt is provided with afiring pin 9 reciprocably mounted in the forward head portion 10thereof. A bolt cap 11 having a longitudinal slot at 12 in the lowerforward portion thereof receives in the slot the shouldered head 13 ofthe firing pin and embraces the reduced inner neck 14 of the bolt headwith a retaining pin at 15 joining the cap and head. A cam collar 16with a conventional camming surface at 17 is rotatably mounted on theneck l4'between the head 10 and cap 11. The receiver 2 is provided witha longitudinal slot 18 at the top thereof for receiving the stem of thehandle 4 in cooking the gun in the usual manner.

Encased in the cap 11 is a hammer or striker pin 19 with spring 20holding its enlarged head 21 against the head of the firing pin. Cap 11at the top thereof is formed with a projecting shotgun bolt sight 22 forsighting along the top of the barrel in firing the gun.

The lower shouldered portion 13 of the firing pin head is formed with acam receiving surface 23 in the front thereof and at the rear thereof isprovided with a depending lug 24 having a rearwardly inclined searengaging abutment on its forward face. The portion 13 of the firing pinis slidable forwardly in the slot 12 and in a longitudinal slot at 25registered therewith in the lower section of the neck 14 of the bolthead to rest against the forward cam surface of the collar 16. Therelative positions shown by Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the travel of thefiring pin.

The receiver is also slotted as at 26 for forward movement of the lug 24and to admit the top of a scar 27 for engagement with the lug.

As shown by Figs. 4 and 5 a trigger housing of narrow width is fixed tothe under surface of receiver 2. The housing is preferably formed byfolding a single piece of metal to provide closely spaced side walls 28and a bottom wall 29 integral therewith. The free edges at the top ofthe walls may be integrally joined as by welding the same to theunderside of the receiver. The rear edges of the side walls (Fig. 5) areoutwardly turned to form flanges 30 against which in flat planarrelation a plate 31 is fixed as by spot welding to provide a pad lyingagainst the fiat rear surfaces of a recess 32 of the stock. Between theforward edges of the walls 28 is a T-shaped piece, the leg 33 of whichis fixed as by spot welding between the walls for spacing the same, andthe cross head 34 of which forms a guide plate for the slotted edge of amagazine clip 35. Adjacent the leg 33 (see Fig. 2) on a pivot 36 fixedbetween the walls a U-shaped latch 37 is mounted, the foot of the latchhaving a toe 38 at the front thereof to engage the magazine and anextension 39 at the rear providing a finger plate by which the latch canbe swung against a spring 40 to release the magazine.

Between the walls 28, the trigger action (Figs. 2 and 3) is mounted. Thescar 27 and a trigger 41 are pivoted on pins 42 and 43 respectively. Thepins are one above the other and may be substantially in verticallyspaced relation rearwardly of the slot 26 and the depending lug 24 ofthe firing pin. The scar as shown is pivoted adjacent the extremerearward portion thereof and forwardly weighted while the trigger ispivoted in its forward section and rearwardly weighted.

The sear is provided with an upwardly extending lug engaging faceadapted for slidable engagement against the forward face of the lug asshown by Fig. 2. The sear is roughly in the form of an L-shaped piecewith the pivot 42 at the top of the longer member thereof, the shortermember being forwardly and upwardly angled and adapted to lie with thelug engaging face at the upper rear corner thereof nested in the uppercocked position of Fig. 2 against lug 24. At the underside of the longerarm and intermediate the pivot and lug engaging face a sear notch isprovided in a depending bulged projection having an inverted V-spacedrecess at 45. The scar notch is adapted to receive an upwardly directednose 46 of the trigger 41. The tip of nose 46'and the apex of the notchare substantially equidistant from the pivot pins 42 and 43 when in thecocked position of the parts as in Fig. 2 so that rocking movement of atrigger pull will cause the forward edge of the nose to slip off thefore side of the notch and permit the lug 24 to force the sear to thereleased position of Fig. 3. It will also be seen that the forward sideof the sear notch 45 is in acute angular relation to a radial line drawnfrom the axis of pivot 42 to the apex of said notch. Thus in the engagedposition of Fig. 2 the trigger nose 46 will hold the sear againstmovement until the trigger is rocked in a clockwise direction.

The forward portions of the scar and trigger are both yieldably urged torotate in an upward direction by a spring 50. The spring is seatedagainst the trigger in a notch 51, located above trigger pivot 43 andrearwardly of the pivots 42 and 43. Against the sear the spring isseated in a notch 52, below sear pivot 42 and forwardly thereof betweenthe pivot 42 and sear notch 45. On the sear the force is exerted againstthe lower side thereof in an upward direction toward its forward end andon the trigger against an upwardly directed shouldered portion at 53behind the pivot 43. Thus, in firing the gun the trigger is rockedagainst the spring 50 and the resistance of the sear which is urged in acounterclockwise direction by the atcion of lug 24 under pressure fromthe spring 20. When the nose 46 slips past the sear notch 45 the searslips under lug 24 and the firing pin is released. The scar 27 is also"urged upwardly by the spring 50. The force of spring 50 is, however,overcome by the action of the far heavier spring 20 actuating thefiringpin member 9 through the striker 19. The nose of the trigger, as seen byFig. 3, thus rides to the forward side of the notched projection toremain in this position until the cam collar is rotated to cock thefiring pin rearwardly against the spring 20. Spring 50 will then movethe sear upwardly into engagement with lug 24 and at the same time thenose 46 will slip into the notch 45 as the spring50 rocks the trigger byrearward pressure against the shoulder 53.

In dismantling the bolt from the receiver by withdrawing the handle 4back along the slot at 18 it will be seenthat the upwardly pressed searcan be swung downwardly to agreater degree by giving the trigger anadditional pull to contact at the top thereof the rear edge of the scarand hold the front portion thereof out of the path of the bolt as itpasses the slot at 26. As is common in bolt action repeating shotguns ofthis type the undersurface of the bolt head is generally slottedlongitudinally as at and provides a stop surface at the front of theslot to engage the sear to limit rearward travel of the bolt in ejectinga shell and reloading the gun from the magazine clip.

The safety device as shown by Figs. 2 and 3 includes a pivoted lockingmember 55 held on pin 56 between the housing walls above the rear sideof the shoulder 53.

Shoulder 53 is notched with a horizontally disposed shelf.

at 57 to receive the lower edge of member 55 when the latter is swungforwardly into the position of Fig. 2. Above the pin 56 the safety 55 isformed with upstanding ears 55 between which is received the inturnedfoot 58 of a safety slide piece 59 (Fig. 4), the foot projecting througha slot 60. in the adjacent wall of the trigger housing. The slide 59 isrecessed in the side of the receiver immediately above the triggerhousing and is mounted for reciprocation in the recess by open endedslots in the front and rear edges as at 61 riding on spaced detentspring mounting screws at 62.

Between the slots in the central portion of the slide two closely spacedvertical detent slots at 63 provide a recess for the centrally scoredcrease 64 of a leaf spring detent 65 mounted by the screws 62. A fingerpiece to actuate the slide is provided above the recess at 66. As willbe seen the detent 64 is lodged in the forward slot 63 of Fig. 4 andthus the slide is in the rearward position thereof in safety on positionwith the foot 58 holding the piece 55 nested against the shelf 57 of thetrigger. In the forward position of the slide the foot 58 rocks thelower end of the lock member 55 rearwardly and out of the path of thetrigger shoulder to permit pulling the trigger to the position shown byFig. 3.

In the safety on position it will further be appreciated that anyjarring of the butt stock of the gun will urge the slide 59 rearwardlyand the lock member 55 forwardly towards the safety on position. Withthe two piece construction of the trigger action as shown the trigger iseffectively locked against any inadvertent jar ring of the sear toaccidently release the firing pin.

From the above description it will be seen that a simplified andfool-proof mechanism is provided in a gun of the type shown. The triggerhousing walls may be made from a stamped piece of metal to eliminate anymachining and bent to the form as shown for welding to the receiver. Thepivot pins held by the walls are secured in place by spring clipsembracing the heads thereof as indicated at (Fig. 4) for ease inmounting and removing the same. As further indicated by Fig. 4visibility openings 71 and 72 are provided in one of the walls 23 so asto enable inspection of the action of the trigger and sear at the searnotch and in the area of spring 50. Thus the accuracy and operation ofthese vital parts of the mechanism can be observed without dismantlingthe assembly.

What is claimed is:

In a firearm, a receiver and housed in the receiver a spring actuatedreciprocable firing pin having a depending lug with a rearwardlyinclined sear engaging abutment on the forward face of the lug forengagement in cocked rearward position of the pin, trigger mechanismincluding a pair of wide, fiat, spaced sear and trigger housing platesdependent from the receiver and extending along the receiver beneath thefiring pin forwardly of the sear engaging abutment of the firing pinlug, a sear pivoted between said housing plates adjacent its rear endrearwardly of said firing pin and said sear engaging abutment and havingat its forward end an upwardly extending lug engaging face adapted forslidable engagement against the forward face of said lug in the upperpivotal position of the sear, said sear having a sear notch in its undersurface intermediate said pivot and said abutment engaging face, atrigger pivoted between said housing plates vertically below said searpivot and provided at the forward tip thereof with a nose portionengageable in said sear notch in the upper abutment engaging position ofsaid sear, said trigger holding said nose frictionally lodged in saidnotch and the sear in said sear abutment engaging position and beingmovable to release said sear for sliding pivotal movement thereof fromthe path of said firing pin lug, said trigger and sear having edgeportions with aligned spring seating notches between the pivots of thetrigger and sear diagonally disposed with relation to a vertical linebetween the pivots, a spring compressed between the trigger and sear andhaving one end seated in the spring seating notch in the trigger toengage the trigger above and rearwardly of its pivot and another andseated in the spring seating notch in the sear to engage the searintermediate its pivot and the sear notch, said housing plates formingside walls for the spring seating notches of the trigger and scar andencasing the spring in said notches between the housing plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,136,247 Lewis Apr. 20, 1915 2,406,493 Dunn Aug. 27, 1946 2,474,456Barnett June 28, 1949 2,539,447 Lochhead Jan. 30, 1951 2,539,554 Sampsonet al Ian. 30, 1951 2,557,144 Schaich June 19, 1951

